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Qualcomm Unveils First mmWave 5G Antennas For Smartphones (theverge.com)
Qualcomm announced its new QTM052 mmWave antenna modules that will enable 5G networks on select mobile phones. The penny-sized antenna array features four antennas that can accurately point toward the nearest 5G tower. It can even bounce signals off of surrounding surfaces, if needed. The Verge reports: The QTM052 is designed to be small enough that device manufacturers will be able to embed it into the bezel of a phone. Qualcomm's X50 5G modem is already designed to support up to four of the antenna arrays, one for each side of the phone, allowing for 16 total antennas and ensuring that no matter how you hold your phone, the signal won't get blocked. Qualcomm says that the first devices with the QTM052 antennas should be launching as early as the beginning of 2019 -- and hopefully, there'll be some actual 5G networks to use them with by then.
It's not so easy to make a phased array by using traces on the PCB. Modules like these make it easier to implement, which will help out the smaller companies the most. It's easier to switch to differently located arrays within the phone with these modules as well. You need something like this when you go run 26-47Ghz like these do as the signals are easily attenuated.
One of my pet peeves about cell phone antenna design is form over function, with a larger and more sophisticated antenna the range can be enhanced significantly as you can increase the gain and area over which the signal is captured. Instead, as the signal to noise ratio dropped due to advancements on the radio side, manufacturers let the antennas atrophy and hid them wherever they could leading to designs where customers simply are "holding them wrong".